Sunday, October 18, 2015

Sunday Snapshot: First Frost

The weather forecast warned that we were likely to receive our first frost of the season last night.  We did.

You can see the frost really clearly on the hood of our daughter's Jeep.


Today's date is right in the middle of the range in which we should expect our first frost.  For Fredericksburg, which is south of here by about 15 minutes, the average date is October 25.  For Culpeper and Warrenton, our closest neighbors to the north and west, the date is October 8.  

The temperature didn't stay cold enough for long enough to do damage to the more tender plants in the garden.  That's a good thing, because I totally forgot to bring in my potted plants that have been spending the summer outdoors.  I will consider this to be a gentle reminder to make time during the coming week to clear space for them to live till spring.

11 comments:

  1. We had frost here too!
    My climbing yellow rose bush had just starting having a lot of blooms the last couple of weeks and now this.
    :(
    That was supposed to be our coldest night and next week the low's will only be in the 40's at night.
    I could Google this question but I'd rather ask the expert.
    Do I wrap the climbing roses with burlap or something?
    Or do I cut them down to the ground?
    I hate to think I need to cut them down but I didn't cut my butterfly bush last year and it died.
    Thanks!
    :)
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Climbing roses are a mixed bag, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer. I don't think I have ever advised anyone to cut a climbing rose to the ground. The idea with them is to keep as much length on the canes as you can, so they continue to cover whatever structure they grow on, and do what is necessary to help the long canes survive the winter. Here, I don't do any sort of winter protection. For you (if your temps are colder and winter is longer/harder than mine) you may want to. Is this rose one that you have had for a while, or is it new this year? Is it in a spot where it is subject to harsh winter winds? (Lots of questions, I know.)

      Wrapping the canes and adding some extra cover/mulch to the base of the plant is probably a good idea. Beyond that, I'm going to suggest that you contact your closest local rose society and ask one of their consulting rosarians. There's no charge for this, and it's good to get advice from folks nearby when it comes to gardening dilemmas.

      Delete
    2. Thank you, Thank you!
      I will be wrapping and mulching!
      xoxo

      Delete
  2. I meant to say, coldest night THIS week.
    After that...Brrrrrrr.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, I can't believe it! It's still so warm here. I hope you're feeling good after your surgery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel very well ... thank you. Still a little bit of dizziness left, but great otherwise.

      Delete
  4. No frost here, we still have the AC on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My husband was on a business trip to southern California for part of last week. It was in the 90s there, while we were in the 60s.

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  5. We had our first frost this morning...and I'm NOT ready! :)

    xo Kat

    ReplyDelete
  6. Brrr....we're a few weeks out (I hope) from frost.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are well ahead of us. Still quite hot around here :-(
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete

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